1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus suitable for use with digital image processing apparatuses and the like, especially for use with digital cameras, to an image processing method, and to a computer readable memory storing the method as above.
2. Related Background Art
In taking an image with a conventional digital camera, the image projected on a CCD via an optical system is picked up as analog electrical signals and converted by an A/D converter into digital signals which are then processed by a DSP for gamma correction and other corrections and compressed by a compressor to record it in a storage unit.
When digital image data is to be stored, subimages called thumb-nail images are generally formed. If a user wants to overview photographed images, these thumb-nail images are reproduced without transferring and reproducing base image data. Although color image data is generally stored in general use, monochrome characters are sometimes stored. It has been proposed for this purpose to photograph characters at higher resolution by removing an optical low-pass filter in the optical system and processing monochrome character data.
However, when monochrome data processed by conventional techniques is compressed and stored according to JPEG, the image quality is degraded because of block distortion or the like inherent to JPEG processing.
Thumb-nail images are generally formed either in monochrome or color and the characteristics of an original base image are not correctly reflected upon. Therefore, if a base image is a composite image of color and monochrome, these color and monochrome of the base image cannot be discriminated from a corresponding thumb-nail image.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and method and a computer readable memory storing such a method, capable of easily confirming the characteristics of a base image.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and method and a computer readable memory storing such a method, capable of improving the quality of an index image called a thumb-nail image.
Under the above objects taken into consideration, a preferred embodiment of the invention discloses an image processing apparatus comprising: means for forming an image file and storing the image file in a storage medium; means for setting whether a color image file or a monochrome image file is formed from an input color image signal; and means for controlling the forming means to generate a reduced color image file or a reduced monochrome image file, in accordance with the setting by the setting means.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and method capable of converting image data composed of a base image and a subimage into another format.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and method capable of readily converting an image taken with a digital camera into image data of another format.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus having a novel function.
The other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.